This invention generally relates to a lamp having a bulb that includes a plurality of light emitting diodes.
A light emitting diode (LED) is a known type of light emitting semi-conductor device. The emitted light may change color and intensity depending on the type of semi-conductor material. LED based lighting is typically more efficient than conventional lighting systems, such as a system utilizing an incandescent light bulb.
Incandescent light bulbs have a relatively short life span. Typically, the incandescent light bulb engages a threaded socket within an incandescent lamp. The conventional lighting system design must provide access for replacing the incandescent light bulb and must further accommodate the threaded socket. Thus, the conventional lighting system has limited design options. LED based lighting provides greater design freedom due in part to the efficiency and relatively small size of the LED.
Even though some recently developed types of LED generate more light than previous LED types, at least one LED is still typically required to generate to same amount of light as the incandescent light bulb. Distributing the light from more than one LED to mimic a traditional incandescent lighting pattern is often difficult as more than one LED may result in visible lighting “hot-spots” for example. LED based lighting also generates more thermal energy per watt than conventional lighting, which can overheat the system. Accordingly, previous attempts to replace conventional incandescent light bulbs with LED based lighting have proven ineffective.